Former World No.6 Carla Suárez Navarro revealed on Tuesday that she has been diagnosed with early stage Hodgkin Lymphoma. The seven-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist, who initially intended to make 2020 her last season on tour, last played at the Qatar Total Open - a tournament she won back in 2016 - where she pushed Petra Kvitova to three sets, and recently withdrew from the 2020 US Open.

The Spaniard, who will celebrate her 32nd birthday on September 3, has been a mainstay on the WTA tour since 2008, when she roared into the Roland Garros quarterfinals as a qualifier, and upset Venus Williams en route to the last eight of the Australian Open in Melbourne. She cracked the Top 10 for the first time in 2015, the same year she finished runner-up at the Miami Open and shocked Simona Halep to reach the championship match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.

While the tour was locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she volunteered at her local food bank in the Canary Islands to help essential workers and those in need.

Suárez Navarro wrote the following in an official statement:

I hope everybody is fine during the difficult times in which we’re living.

I would like be writing to send great news but so far that’s a reality that must be put on hold.

As I let you know in previous weeks, I’ve been unable to train on court or at the gym on a regular basis recently. When I expose my body to the demands of professional sport, it doesn’t sustain the effort anymore. I haven't completed a practice sessions since July.

During the past few days you may have seen some images from a hospital bed on my Social Media platforms.

We’ve been looking for medical reasons to explain why I was feeling unwell. I went through different tests to detect the cause. That forced me to stay at home resting and withdraw from the two New York events I planned to compete in. That was my illusion after so many months out of the competition.

The clinical results were confirmed: I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma. The doctors told me that it was small, curable lymphoma detected at an early stage. The treatment required is clear: I must complete a treatment with six months of chemotherapy.

That’s the only goal I have in mind right now. Everything else becomes automatically secondary.

I want to express gratitude for the nice, elegant support I have always received from the fans throughout my entire professional career. I hope you understand my current situation and hope to see you as soon as possible.

Carla